Just for your edification, sharing a tiny experience I had while traveling.
A couple weeks ago my wife and I drove up to a town in PA. This downtown area had a moderate number of tall buildings and didn't look the cleanest. The hotel was not of our choosing and was smack dab in the middle of the downtown area.
It was late and cold, between 10 - 11 PM and we grabbed all of our bags at once so we'd only have to make 1 trip in to check-in. The parking garage was not connected to the hotel and we had to walk around the side of the hotel to the front (side door closed at night). My wife was walking in front of me arms full probably and I had our large duffel bag and laptop case hanging around my neck to my left side. We walked past a couple of men loitering and smoking outside talking loudly. One man in a blue tee-shirt seemed fit, short blonde hair, thick in the torso and arms with no apparent beer-belly, and several inches taller than I. The other man was in the middle of a conversation with him about some experience from which he learned a life lesson. As we passed them they stopped talking and one said, "hey lady!" to my wife. We kept walking. We went inside and waited to be checked in at the front desk. The hotel was large, and had a bar playing music. The man with the blue tee-shirt came in and headed straight for the bar. Several minutes later he re-emerged and on his way back outside he sort of bumped my bag as he walked past me - even though this foyer area was a couple times wider than your average movie theatre with a ceiling at least 40 feet high.
We didn't talk about it until we got to our room. I wasn't really offended by the way he talked or that he bumped into me. I just thought he was kind of creepy, rude, and inappropriate. She thought the two of them were drunk. I didn't pay enough attention to make a judgement on that. I'm glad we kept walking. We hadn't worked out any non-verbal signals or plan or anything. My wife said she kept going because she didn't know how to address something like that but I also think it was because the door was so close already - less than 30 feet away and hotel meant more safety. I think she made a good choice and I'm proud of her for not having any of it.
If I could do anything different: I would have grabbed the heavy duffel bag by the canvas handle in the middle of the bag where I could voluntarily drop it if I needed to. With it slung around my neck, turning was slow and someone could have dragged me around by it all day long. I also did not look at them as we continued walking the distance to the door. I felt uneasy ignoring them because I didn't know what was going on behind me. I'm still unsure what would have been better - would turning to them have sparked a conflict? (who knows?) Would verbally engaging with them have been wise? How strange would it be (for both parties
) if I were to turn around and walk backwards to the hotel door? I'm guessing there is no easy rule and praise God it turned out well. Lastly, I thought I was on to something by keeping my right hand free. But as I walked I had been using my right arm to swing and counter-balance my heavy load. Next time I will keep my hand in my pocket on the handle of my snub-nose. If anything had really happened (sucker punch) I think I would have been too slow in finding the opening of my pocket and starting from there.
I tossed a few ideas around about what might be safer to walk as a couple - side by side? Her first? Her behind? - and for now we settled on her going first still. Unless we're hiking I suppose.
I'm pretty good at being hard on myself (and others unfortunately) but all in all it ended well. It probably wasn't as hazardous as some situations you all have been in but it was a surprise none the less. I could say to myself "ah, it was just a couple of harmless drunks" - but at the time I really had no idea what was going to happen. I bet you didn't either as you read this I also briefly wondered if 5 rounds of 38 special + P was enough for 2 big fellas. I like my snubby and I'm not looking to replace it, but may consider adding to the arsenal someday. My snubby's still too new-looking to replace.
You can bet I carried when we drove to Tennessee next, again arriving at night. There's another story - I was in the rest area men's bathroom late at night and was about to leave when a gentleman looking like a pirate (no offense...matey) - eyepatch and bandana pushed open the door. Surprised me again but he was nice. No, it wasn't halloween yet.
It's strange. I didn't ever see a need to carry before I actually started carrying.
To the gentleman in the blue T-shirt if you're a forum member: please be careful.
To the gentleman in with the eyepatch if you're a forum member: good evening!
To all the rest of you, hope you are well.
A couple weeks ago my wife and I drove up to a town in PA. This downtown area had a moderate number of tall buildings and didn't look the cleanest. The hotel was not of our choosing and was smack dab in the middle of the downtown area.
It was late and cold, between 10 - 11 PM and we grabbed all of our bags at once so we'd only have to make 1 trip in to check-in. The parking garage was not connected to the hotel and we had to walk around the side of the hotel to the front (side door closed at night). My wife was walking in front of me arms full probably and I had our large duffel bag and laptop case hanging around my neck to my left side. We walked past a couple of men loitering and smoking outside talking loudly. One man in a blue tee-shirt seemed fit, short blonde hair, thick in the torso and arms with no apparent beer-belly, and several inches taller than I. The other man was in the middle of a conversation with him about some experience from which he learned a life lesson. As we passed them they stopped talking and one said, "hey lady!" to my wife. We kept walking. We went inside and waited to be checked in at the front desk. The hotel was large, and had a bar playing music. The man with the blue tee-shirt came in and headed straight for the bar. Several minutes later he re-emerged and on his way back outside he sort of bumped my bag as he walked past me - even though this foyer area was a couple times wider than your average movie theatre with a ceiling at least 40 feet high.
We didn't talk about it until we got to our room. I wasn't really offended by the way he talked or that he bumped into me. I just thought he was kind of creepy, rude, and inappropriate. She thought the two of them were drunk. I didn't pay enough attention to make a judgement on that. I'm glad we kept walking. We hadn't worked out any non-verbal signals or plan or anything. My wife said she kept going because she didn't know how to address something like that but I also think it was because the door was so close already - less than 30 feet away and hotel meant more safety. I think she made a good choice and I'm proud of her for not having any of it.
If I could do anything different: I would have grabbed the heavy duffel bag by the canvas handle in the middle of the bag where I could voluntarily drop it if I needed to. With it slung around my neck, turning was slow and someone could have dragged me around by it all day long. I also did not look at them as we continued walking the distance to the door. I felt uneasy ignoring them because I didn't know what was going on behind me. I'm still unsure what would have been better - would turning to them have sparked a conflict? (who knows?) Would verbally engaging with them have been wise? How strange would it be (for both parties
) if I were to turn around and walk backwards to the hotel door? I'm guessing there is no easy rule and praise God it turned out well. Lastly, I thought I was on to something by keeping my right hand free. But as I walked I had been using my right arm to swing and counter-balance my heavy load. Next time I will keep my hand in my pocket on the handle of my snub-nose. If anything had really happened (sucker punch) I think I would have been too slow in finding the opening of my pocket and starting from there.I tossed a few ideas around about what might be safer to walk as a couple - side by side? Her first? Her behind? - and for now we settled on her going first still. Unless we're hiking I suppose.
I'm pretty good at being hard on myself (and others unfortunately) but all in all it ended well. It probably wasn't as hazardous as some situations you all have been in but it was a surprise none the less. I could say to myself "ah, it was just a couple of harmless drunks" - but at the time I really had no idea what was going to happen. I bet you didn't either as you read this
I also briefly wondered if 5 rounds of 38 special + P was enough for 2 big fellas. I like my snubby and I'm not looking to replace it, but may consider adding to the arsenal someday. My snubby's still too new-looking to replace.You can bet I carried when we drove to Tennessee next, again arriving at night. There's another story - I was in the rest area men's bathroom late at night and was about to leave when a gentleman looking like a pirate (no offense...matey
) - eyepatch and bandana pushed open the door. Surprised me again but he was nice. No, it wasn't halloween yet.It's strange. I didn't ever see a need to carry before I actually started carrying.
To the gentleman in the blue T-shirt if you're a forum member: please be careful.
To the gentleman in with the eyepatch if you're a forum member: good evening!
To all the rest of you, hope you are well.
